3 Stocks With Unusual Call Option Volume: Opportunities On Watch

Key Points

• Despite recent volatility in the stock market due to trade tariffs, call option traders still found enough reason to buy these three stocks.
• Backed by fundamental tailwinds, these were easy targets for institutional capital to accumulate positions.
• Wall Street analysts also agree as they see double-digit upside potential and momentum in these names.

When retail investors prepare to identify the best opportunities in the market, they typically look to the momentum and buying activity coming from Wall Street analysts and other professional investors or traders. With this in mind, a few indicators apart from normal stock buying activity mean infinitely more as far as a breakout signal.

This indicator comes through call option buying activity, and it is more important than regular stock buying activity because of the nature of stock options themselves. Stock options will go to zero for the buyer holding them if they miss two of the underlying marks: the direction of a stock’s move and the timing of the move itself since they have an expiration date that must be met.

Knowing that the stakes are higher than regular stock buying activity, investors should pay attention to the recent call option buying activity in the names Mosaic Co. NYSE: MOS as part of the basic materials sector, then there is the broader exchange-traded fund covering silver through the iShares Silver Trust NYSEARCA: SLV. Lastly, a consumer staples play is found in shares of the Kroger Co. NYSE: KR for those looking into both safety and upside potential.

Mosaic Stock Has Attracted New Institutional Buyers

Even though Mosaic stock has traded down to 80% of its 52-week high, being in borderline bearish territory (defined by Wall Street as a 20% or more decline from recent highs), some institutional buyers have found enough reasons to buy this stock recently due to its upside potential.

As of February 2025, Charles Schwab Investment Management decided to boost their holdings in Mosaic stock by as much as 4.7% to bring their net position to a high of $82.8 million today, or 1.06% ownership in the company. This also acts as an initial bullish factor for investors to lean on today.

With recent stock market volatility brought on by President Trump’s latest trade tariffs, the agricultural sector might see renewed demand in the coming quarters. This is precisely why investors can see Wall Street analysts land on a consensus price target of $33.8 for the stock today, which means a new 52-week high and a net upside of as much as 26% from where the stock trades today.

More than that, management is confident that the company will be able to meet this future potential demand and see increased cash flows, so they kept a $0.84 payout per share in the form of dividends. At today’s low price, this payment would translate into an annual dividend yield of up to 3.1% to beat inflation rates in the United States economy.

Silver Needs to Catch Up to Gold

Gold prices have reached a new all-time high throughout the past couple of weeks, yet silver prices have yet to catch a breakout of their own. Considering that these two precious metals are fundamentally correlated and mathematically by up to 88%, this divergence could be closed down soon.

This is why up to $55.8 million worth of this exchange-traded fund (ETF) was stacked up by institutional buyers at Proficio Capital Partners as of February 2025. Unlike other ETFs with a diversified base of metal mining stocks, this one holds 100% silver in its portfolio, leaving investors with an effective exposure to the precious metal.

Zooming out from the gold price divergence, investors can also see how this ETF has outperformed the broader S&P 500 by as much as 5% over the past month alone. This bullish momentum is another factor investors can keep in mind when breaking down their potential buying thesis.

Safety in Kroger Stock Seen by Wall Street Analysts

Because Kroger stock is part of the consumer staples sector, a seemingly safe haven during these volatile times, Wall Street analysts have found it easier to boost the stock recently. Even though it already trades at its 52-week high, according to the latest round of analyst ratings, there is still a path to more double-digit upside from here.

Such as those from Evercore, which was as recently as February 2025, where they not only reiterated an outperform rating for the stock but also placed a valuation for up to $75 a share. This new valuation would not only call for a new all-time high for Kroger but also an upside potential of as much as 15.3% from today’s prices.

It seems that Charles Schwab investors are on a broader value hunt. They also boosted their holdings in Kroger stock by 3% as of February 2025, accumulating as much as $307.9 million worth. If that wasn’t enough to convince investors, then looking at recent bearish activity (or the lack of it) could be a better indicator.

Kroger’s short interest declined by as much as 3.7% over the past month alone. This is a clear sign of bearish capitulation in the face of these call option buyers looking to capitalize on the double-digit upside potential in Kroger stock for the coming months.